Stand Up
by DetrimentalHabitsPt4
Summary: What do you do when the enemy is in your own mind? Jack Atlas is suffering from more than an identity crisis-he's battling a parasitic immortal who wants to hurt his friends and take over his body!


**I wrote this for fun and to test out my first-person abilities, and I have to say, I'm extremely proud of it. This took me almost four months to write!  
No yaoi, no insinuations of yaoi, and there's a little blood and violence, as well as some swear words.**

* * *

_'What the deuce is the matter with me? What's happening? What-is-going-on?'_

I glanced from side to side, briefly checking the general perimeter. I didn't see anyone. Good. Hopefully my friends hadn't followed me. It would do them no good to see me like this.

_'Agh...my head...'_ I rubbed my temples, but the pain didn't fade. I was feeling dizzy and a little nauseous, but that wasn't all. I was also slightly scared. I'm usually so tough, everyone knows I'm a loner kind of guy. I'm bad with teams and I was never too good with people for social matters, even when my life depended on it. I'm just like that. So why was I suddenly wishing that I wasn't alone? And why the heck was I so frightened?

_'All alone in the middle of a wasteland, with nothing but a duel runner to keep me company, I feel like I'm about to pass out, and I wonder why I'm frightened?'_ my thoughts seemed to double up, like two irritatingly correct voices speaking at once. _'Why do I do this to myself? Why didn't I just stay home? Why couldn't I tell my friends what was hurting me?'_

I turned back to my duel runner, then suddenly cried out and fell to my knees, grabbing the sides of my head. The dull, throbbing pain was exploding now, shattering through every conscious fiber of my being. I felt alien to myself, like I didn't even belong in my own body because the pure agony was replacing me.

_'What's...going...on?'_

I started to scream against what was left of my will, trying to distract myself from whatever this was. It was a strange, unknown sound. I don't scream. At least, not like this. Not in pain or terror.

Blurry images shot across my vision like shooting stars, burning with all the white-hot fire of real ones. People I recognized, like my friends and enemies. People that looked familiar but I was unable to place them. Then I saw him, his narrow red eyes glowing with arrogance and power. I saw him reach out to me, holding his white-clad arm forward. Patiently waiting.

If I could've spoken real words, I would've told him to leave me be. I would've told him to get the hell away and stay out of my life. Find someone else to poison. Find someone else to torment. If I had been in any less pain than I was then, or if I had been any stronger, I would've ignored him. But I needed help, as much as I hated to admit it. I felt like I was burning up alive. And he was the only one there.

So I took his hand.

* * *

"Hey Yus, has Jack come back yet?"Crow called from the kitchen upstairs."It's getting kinda late, it's almost eleven o'clock."

"No, and don't you think you would've heard his duel runner if he'd returned?" Yusei replied, sticking his head through the hole in the kitchen floor. Climbing the rest of the way up the ladder, he continued, "Besides, he seemed pretty shaken up when he left. He might stay away the whole night." This wasn't exactly a normal thing for Jack, but he could be pretty unpredictable sometimes.

"Wonder why he was so messed up..."Crow mused, stirring his drink absentmindedly.

"Yeah...it kind of makes me worry a little."Yusei looked at his friend briefly, then did a double take."Is that...coffee, Crow? At this late at night? Are you planning on pulling an all-nighter or something?"

"Umm...yep, it's coffee Yusei. Ya want some?"The Blackwing duelist shifted slightly from his seat on the counter-top, ignoring about half the questions that Yusei had posed.

"I think I'll pass."The raven-haired teen waved a hand dismissively at the offer and went over to the fridge instead."I'm pretty sure that we need to drop by the store tomorrow, we're running low on food..."Yusei trailed off as he stared into the appliance's depths, and then he reached in and pulled out a bowl of yogurt...or at least, it used to be yogurt.

"Crow, what in the name of-?"

Crow had been attempting to take up a healthier diet recently, a feat that Jack considered impossible and that Yusei thought was a bit much, considering the fact that Crow was fond of all things excessively cheesy, sugary, chocolate-y, salty, and fatty. Crow had apparently been doing well enough, but this little piece of reeking, curdled evidence was enough to put Yusei off the whole idea. Perhaps Crow hadn't been eating everything that he'd been claiming...

"Whoops!"his friend said loudly, sliding off the counter and snatching the bowl away."I guess I kinda just...forgot about it, Yusei...yeah, that's what...happened..."

The fiery-haired teen was slinking over to the window as he spoke, which was open at this point.

"Crow, I doubt that dumping a bowl of expired yogurt out onto the street is defined as proper disposal." Yusei said exasperatedly.

"But it stinks! Besides-"

"Crooow..."Yusei dragged out the Blackwing duelist's name, crossing his arms.

"I'm just kidding," Crow said, starting to pull his arm back through the window."Just kid-AAH!"

His arm gave a slight spasm as his Signer mark glowed for a brief second. He dropped the bowl, and there was a distant crash as well as the trademark screech of a cat as the unfortunate dish hit the ground two stories below.

"What the?" Crow stuck his head out the window to look, then glanced at Yusei."I swear that was an accident. My mark...did you feel it too?"

"Yeah, actually..."Yusei looked at his marked arm with concern."I wonder why..."

* * *

My fingers burned and I bit back a cry of alarm; he grinned as we made contact, then disappeared as a shadow passed over the moon. And then suddenly, I surfaced from the pain.

I stayed there, curled up on the ground, gasping. Nobody was there, only me and my duel runner, but I swore that I could hear the dim echo of laughter. Evil laughter. Familiar laughter.

When the pain became enough to bear again, I managed to crawl forward a bit before I started retching. Bile rose in my throat, suffocating me for a terrifying moment, and then I managed to swallow it all back down. I paused, still trying to breathe, then slowly raised myself up on one knee to start.

Bad move.

My knee gave out and I hit the ground hard, my head spinning and my heart pounding. What was I going to do? I couldn't call on my friends and risk having them see me in suck a wreck! Call me a prideful fool if you will, but I've already made it clear that I'm not a team person. This would just be too much.

I rolled over onto my back and began to sit up slowly, using all my arm strength to push myself off the ground. It was taking a lot more effort than I was used to though. My arms were shaking from the strain, and my head felt heavy.

_'This...is...so...messed...up!'_Even my most aggravated thoughts were pathetic and un-forceful. For the millionth time I asked myself why I didn't...better yet, why I couldn't say anything to my friends. Why I was totally incapable of coming out with honest words, simply saying "You guys, I have a problem."

_'I'm not a team player.'_

_'I'm tough, I'm a loner kind of guy.'_

_'I don't ask for help.'_

_'I don't need help.'_

_'I always end up offending others whenever I try.'_

_'My personality just doesn't click well enough.'_

...

_'Well that's bullshit.'_

_

* * *

_

"Yusei, it's pretty close to twelve now and your eyes look like they're about to fall out of your head. Why don't you just hit the sack and call it a night? Jack'll probably be home by the morning anyway..."Crow sounded somewhat concerned, but he was clearly prepared to collapse onto the ground in a matter of seconds.

"Ah...I don't know. I think I'd rather stay up a bit longer. You know, just to be safe."

"Well..."Crow yawned, stretching and sliding over to the couch in his socks, "We can...stay up and wait for him, I don't mind."

"You should sleep Crow."Yusei said softly."I'll stay up and wait. You're pretty tired after all you did today."

Yusei paused, and upon receiving no answer, he glanced back at Crow. The Blackwing duelist was sprawled out on the couch, still wearing his headband and jacket, snoring softly. For all his good intentions, he was utterly exhausted, and Yusei couldn't blame him.

_'I wonder...' _Yusei looked at his marked arm again, then back out the window. Dark rain clouds were gathering in the distance, like the harbingers of bad news to come. _'Is Jack alright?'_

* * *

My thoughts were probably bouncing all over New Domino that night as I drove, trying to understand what the hell was happening to me.

_'I probably shouldn't even be driving.'_ The thought was a weak one. _'I mean, seriously. You're not supposed to drive after...head trauma...'_

Everything was starting to sway a little, the colors of the road blurring together at the neon colored edges. So why the heck did I keep driving? I don't know. Because I'm stubborn. Because it looked like it was about to rain. Because I really wanted to get home. Because I really needed to tell my friends what was happening to me.

I had realized that for all my excuses, I couldn't close the floodgates. I had to come clean or pay the price, and this time I didn't think that I could duel myself out of this one. I was never too good with mind games.

I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I didn't notice that I was starting to veer a little to the side. My head was throbbing again, and I raised a hand to my forehead. In that second, my D-Wheel shot to the side and I slammed into the barrier, skidding down the road several feet before managing to pull away.

_'I really should stop...'_My thoughts were hazy. _'That was...too close...I...'_

I could feel a foreign presence rising within my mind, and with a jolt of fear I recognized it. It was him. That freak who'd been haunting my dreams for days now, slipping in and out of my life in the strangest of places. Was this all part of his plan? What did he want? More importantly, could I fight him off until I managed to get to my friends?

I could see the part of the city where Crow and Yusei were probably sleeping up ahead. I stepped on the accelerator, hoping to reach them before I passed out or something.

And then I really lost control, smacking into the wall and tearing up the side of my duel runner in the process. The metal shrieked as it tore itself apart, and I went flying, flinging forward several feet before crumpling hard onto the pavement. I knew my arms had been torn up by the concrete and metal and I thought I felt something crack, but I'm not sure. I knew there was blood seeping out onto the road beside me, and the rainy world was losing its clarity. There was a film of redness over my left eye, and I had a feeling that there was going to be a scar somewhere up there. The pain was awful, but it was a different kind of pain than before. This wasn't just inside of my mind. I felt anguish, as well as physical pain.

_'I...can't...I...'_I needed to reach my friends. I needed to reach them now, before it was too late. But I couldn't move. I could scarcely breathe.

As I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness, I swore that I could hear the dim echo of laughter. Evil laughter. Familiar laughter. And a voice.

**_"You lose, Jack."_**

**_

* * *

_**

"Hey those are my nachos!"

Crow popped up off the couch, glancing around wildly with huge gray eyes. The room was dark and unfamiliar, rain pouring down in what seemed like fifty truckloads per second.

"Yusei?" The Blackwing duelist ventured, looking towards the window. His friend's distinctive silhouette was defined by the dim glow of the streetlights outside.

"Yeah Crow?"he said distantly, not turning around.

"Dude, are you okay?"

Yusei was silent for a moment, and then he sighed a little. His entire body seemed to deflate, like he was letting his guard down in order to confess.

"Not really. I mean, I know there have been times like this before with Jack, but this is...different somehow. You understand?"

"If you could elaborate a little more, then maybe."Crow stood up and walked over to the window seat by his friend."I know it's bothering you, and if you're showing it this much, then something's really wrong."

"It's just that when he left, he seemed...scared, if that's even possible. He was all jumpy, always looking over his shoulder. When I tried to talk to him earlier, it freaked him out and he almost attacked me. I know there's something he's not telling us..."

"Well, there's a lot that he doesn't tell us. Sometimes that creates a bit of an issue, but things are always resolved in the end."

"I know, I know, but it's just...ugh, I can't describe it. I'm...actually...really worried about him for once, and I really can't explain why. I feel like he's really in danger, but for now, nothing's wrong."

"Yeah, but..."Crow trailed off as there was a loud, shrieking sound, then a huge crash."What the..."

Both boys sat rock-still as they suddenly felt a sick feeling swooping through their stomachs. The world grew bright for a second as lightning forked across the sky, illuminating the stricken expressions of the two teens.

"Did you feel that?"Yusei whispered.

"My mark?"Crow hissed back.

They looked at each other, fear written on their faces.

"No," they both said at once, and they ran outside into the pouring rain.

They were immediately soaked but they didn't even notice; they were too preoccupied with staring a short way up the street. There was a red and white figure in the middle of the road, the blood on their terrifyingly still form glistening in the light of the streetlamps. Several feet down from the scene they saw a familiar white duel runner on its side.

"No way," Crow gasped, and Yusei stumbled a few paces forward.

"Oh no," he moaned_."Jack!"_

They both tore off, hearts pounding, towards the wreck. By now a small group had clustered to the side of the scene but they weren't moving any closer. Crow threw himself to Jack's side, his breath coming in short, panicked gasps.

"Somebody call 911!"Yusei called to the crowd, and a few people who weren't in total shock obliged, pulling out their cell phones and dialing the number madly. Once Yusei was sure that was being handled, he turned his attention back to his injured friend.

Jack was completely drenched, mostly in rain but also in blood. His right arm was slightly twisted the wrong way, and both of his arms were brutally sliced up. There was a deep cut down the left side of his head despite him obviously wearing his helmet, so his face was covered in blood. There was a sharp gash from his shoulder to just below his collarbone that was bleeding profusely, covering his unmoving chest and throat in scarlet blood.

"Jack," Yusei said urgently, dropping to his knees beside his friend."Jack!"

"Come on, man," Crow's voice was pitched high with stress."Open your eyes! It takes more than this to put down Jack Atlas!"

There was a beat of silence, and then Jack stirred suddenly. His eyelids fluttered rapidly, and then he looked blearily at his friends through pain-glazed eyes.

"C-Crow? Yu-Yuse-ei?" His voice was thin and rasping, and trickle of blood ran down his jaw as he spoke.

"Don't talk dude."Crow said quickly, asserting the damage done again."It's gonna be okay, somebody called the hospital and they're on their way now. You're gonna be fine, alright?" Crow's voice shook a little."You're going to be okay."

"I...need t-to ta-talk to you g-guys-s..."The injured teen persisted weakly, trying to maintain eye contact with at least one of the boys.

"Jack, you're really banged up."Yusei said quietly but urgently."Emphasis on banged. You need to rest and like Crow said, don't talk. You're just going to end up hurting yourself worse. I'm sure this can wait until you've at least been properly secured."

Jack's head shook minutely from side to side.

"C-can't...w-wait," he gasped."N-need t-to ta-talk n-now!"

"What's more important than your well-being?"Crow demanded."We'll fix your duel runner for you, if that's what's-"

"M-more im-impor...tant...th-than...that," Jack continued, his voice fading."I-I'm in trou-trouble r-right n-now...I n-need your h-help...you-you've g-got to-" the teen was choked off by a violent spasm of pain as more blood was released from his mouth.

"Shut up Jack!" Crow said loudly, resisting the urge to grab his stubborn friend by his shoulders."You're gonna kill yourself out here on the street! Whatever it is, it can wait!"

"Yu...sei..." Jack appealed to the raven-haired teen, desperation in his blue-violet eyes."I...I'm not-"

Thunder rumbled loudly, cutting off the blond duelist's agonized words, and somewhere nearby a siren could be heard. The rain was falling harder than ever, and there was blood washed out all over the street.

"Jack?"Yusei's voice, though soft, cut through all the sound."Jack, can you hear me?"

"I...can't..."

As the next brilliant streak of lightning flashed Yusei thought he saw Jack's eyes turn red-and then they were shut as Jack drifted back into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Yusei?" There was a soft voice speaking. The raven-haired teen opened his cobalt eyes and stared upward, blinking slowly. It took him a moment to remember where he was and why he was here. It took him a few more seconds to realize who was speaking to him and who was standing in front of him.

"Um...Akiza?"

"Yeah, it's me." the girl said gently, brushing some of Yusei's bangs back from his forehead."Are you okay?"

"I've been better..."He yawned, rising from his chair and stretching a little."Crow?"

"Snack bar." Akiza answered simply."I saw him on my way in. The lobby has Cinnabons and coffee, he thought he should take the liberty to get you some breakfast."

"This place is pretty well-equipped..."Yusei mused, looking around the room for the millionth time. The walls were a simple greenish-white color with a darker green trim. The stiff chairs were a turquoise-y color, and the tiled floor was a pale, sterile gray. The lights on the low ceiling gave the room a washed out look, and the reflected especially brightly off the metallic hospital bed in the center of the room. The atmosphere was generally very quiet aside from the constant, rhythmic beeping of the machine next to the bed.

Yusei felt his heart contract a little at the sight of one of his closest friends being confined to a hospital. It just didn't seem right, Jack was too strong for that...wasn't he?

"This is just so messed up!"the young duelist exploded, his gloved hands curling into fists. "Everything about this is…is…wrong!"

"I understand," Akiza said somberly, resting a hand on the raven-haired teen's shoulder. "But right now, we have to be strong about it. For everyone's sake, we all have to be strong."

"Well, I don't understand." Yusei insisted, sitting back down heavily and resting his head on his hands. Akiza paused for a moment, then slowly descended into the stiff seat beside him, rubbing the distressed teen's back.

"Exactly what happened last night, Yusei?" she inquired softly, her voice comforting.

"That's the problem," Yusei answered in a frustrated tone. "I don't _know_!"

"Well, tell me what you do know. All I know is that Jack got into a wreck last night, and I only know that because of the phone call you gave me. So let's start with what you're aware of in the situation."

The young duelist took a deep breath, his shoulders moving up and down with each inhale and exhale. It seemed as though he would never get the words out, but at long last, he finally began to speak.

"For days now," Yusei started, his voice hushed and low, "He's been acting a little… off. At first, Crow and I kind of ignored it, mostly because we thought nothing of it. Everyone goes through strange phases sometimes, has an off day or two…"

"But soon I realized that it had to be more than something natural. Everything about him… every little personality flaw and forte was wrong, skewed. He wasn't just acting strange, he was talking and even looking strange too. It was if he'd stopped taking care of himself. He hasn't even so much as touched a pack of cup ramen in at least five days. He wouldn't eat anything for a full twenty- four hours, go out for a drive, and then come back and ignore everyone. It wasn't adding up to me, or even Crow as time passed."

"Last night… heck, all of yesterday… he was just behaving so out of character. I mean, you know Jack, he's not usually nervous and he never acts afraid of anything, but yesterday he was so jumpy and suspicious it really started to worry me. I tried to talk to him about it, but I guess I surprised him because he attacked me. When he realized that it was just me, he relaxed a little but seemed pretty eager to get away from me."

"Then he left later and everything spiraled out of control. I was getting concerned when he didn't return in the appropriate amount of time, and I was even more vexed when it started raining. And then… we heard the crash."

Yusei's voice fell into silence, and for a few moments the only sound in the room was the steady beeping of the machine.

Then a fit of coughing erupted from the center of the room as the heart monitor suddenly sped up a little in broken rhythm.

* * *

I felt like I was forcing a thirty pound weight out of my lungs as I started coughing, every sharp breath creating a stab of pain somewhere in my ribcage.

_'Ow ow ow ow shoot ow ow ow ow what the hell, '_ My thoughts formed a never ending stream of exclamations of pain and offensive profanities. I took another ragged breath and cracked one eye open about halfway.

"Jack?"

Both of my eyes flew open wide, then shut themselves on instinct from over-exposure to too much light, then I squinted up at the two blurry, shady figures standing over me.

"Yusei? Akiza?" My voice sounded like crap. I felt like crap too. "What's going-!" I cut off into a brief coughing fit before finishing my sentence. "On? Where's Crow? Where are we?"

"One question at a time," Yusei said, his tone border-lining soothing. "You're in the hospital, Jack. You got into a wreck last night, remember?"

This sentence sets off a whole other coughing attack, even though my racing thoughts were far from being short on oxygen.

_'Well now I understand. Now I remember. Now I wish he hadn't said anything. Now I wish I hadn't even asked.'_

"Where's Crow?" I manage to wheeze out several short breaths later. "Is he here too?"

"Yeah, he's back at-oh. Well hey Crow." Yusei finished with a voice slightly more chipper than a dead fish.

"Hey Yusei. I got you some-Jack! You're awake!" Crow practically threw the Styrofoam box of what I'm supposing was Yusei's breakfast onto the chair beside him and darted to my left side. "Are you okay? Is your brain still working?"

"I think I'm fine, Crow." I said shortly, my gaze shifting to Akiza. "Excuse me, but I need to talk to these two really quick, okay? I'm sorry to kick you out like this."

"I understand." She said in a kind way, offering me a small smile. "Besides, I'll probably need to meet Carly in the front lobby anyway. Just let me know when it's safe to return."

With that, Akiza breezed silently from the room, her long red overcoat trailing out behind her. The moment the door clicked shut behind her, I turned my failing attention to my two most trusted friends.

"Alright, listen to me very carefully. I couldn't tell you anything last night, and not because you wouldn't let me. It's not your fault. My mind… I think I'm going crazy."

"Is that all?" Crow sounded impatient. "Would you just get to the point already? This is obviously pretty serious!"

"Crow's got a point, Jack." Yusei said gravely. "You were pretty troubled last night, even more than with the Dark Signers."

My friends could read me better than I remembered. It had been a while since something this critical had occurred.

"Well okay then. There's been this… voice… inside my head lately. Or at least, I used to believe it was just a voice, but now it's… it's gotten worse. I-!" I suddenly cut myself off with a gasp, because he was back.

Daiko.

That voice, that face, that being from last night- that was him. Daiko.

I could sense him inside my head again, and he wasn't happy. He was ready to defend his existence, to keep it under wraps, to hide it from my friends. I had to get this out before it was too late.

"You guys, the voice isn't just a voice. There's a face and a name to go with it and he's-!" I choked again, bursting into yet another fit of violent coughing.

"Jack? Jack?" Crow sounded worried, and Yusei just looked extremely anxious. "Jack, what's going on?"

"Nothing," a familiar voice hacked out. "I'm fine. I'm just… a little confused. I'll be okay."

Oh no. He was back, and he was fighting. Just leave me alone!

"Are you sure?" Crow looked extremely disbelieving, but I felt myself nodding.

"Yeah, I just need to sleep. I'll be alright. Like I said, I'm just confused."

No!

"Alright then…" both Yusei and Crow gave me a look through narrowed, suspicious eyes, but I felt my own eyes close over the image.

"I'll be out of here before you know it…" the voice sighed.

After a beat of seemingly relaxed silence, I heard footsteps going in the direction of the door. It swished open, and then shut with a ticking sound. As the sound of their footsteps faded, I felt something painful rising in my throat. Not like a coughing kind of pain. A different kind.

Only when the tears pricked up in the corners of my closed eyes did I fully understand what was happening.

"This is bad."

* * *

"You're telling me."

"This is seriously really, really bad."

"I think I know that by now."

"No kidding, this is really awfully totally bad."

Yusei stopped walking and exhaled heavily. "I know!"

"I know you know!" Crow responded sharply, and then he lowered his gaze and rubbed his forehead. "I just wish you knew more."

"Me too…"

There was a beat of silence as the two teens resumed walking.

"Can Akiza read minds yet?"

"I don't think that's one of her abilities…" Yusei said despairingly. "She could try to do something, but not now. I don't want to push this issue on anyone else… I mean, not yet."

"Do you really thing that Jack's actually going crazy?" Crow inquired.

"No. What about you?"

"I would rather believe it, but somehow I just know that it's not the case.

"Something more is happening here, and we've just got to find out what." Crow said gravely.

* * *

I raised my head slowly and glared fiercely at Daiko, narrowing my eyes in what I hoped to be a dangerous fashion.

"You stop this shit now!"I snapped forcefully."Leave my friends out of this!"

Daiko began laughing, then stopped abruptly and lashed out at me, striking me hard across the face.

"You know I don't tolerate insubordination Jackie." he hissed, a smirk on his pale face. I felt rage, resentment, and embarrassment all bubbling up inside me at once.

I couldn't fight him off earlier, I couldn't confess to my friends. He didn't let me, he wouldn't. He needed to keep his life a secret, his intentions, his goals, and his actions. He'd successfully taken over my body for that fatal though brief amount of time and forced my desperate words right back down my throat.

For now I was a prisoner literally chained to the walls of my own mind. Daiko stood before me, looking just the same aside from the fact that his eyes were red and he hadn't been in a wreck recently. We were two souls in one body.

"There is no insubordination to it!"I snapped."You're in my body, in my head, therefore I have a right to stand up to you! You don't even belong in here! What do you want from me?"

"You simple-minded mortals are all the same."Daiko said, rolling his cold, scarlet eyes.

"So what the deuce are you then, seeing as you're obviously not a 'simple-minded mortal' like the rest of us?"

"There is no 'us' for you, Jack. There never was. You were and always have been alone, my friend."

"You're not my friend. You're wrong."I growled."I have my real friends. They're like family to me, and the feeling is mutual. I know I can always depend on them, and vice-versa. You don't know what the hell you're talking about. But you didn't answer my question."

"Well, if I must…" Daiko drew a hand across his forehead, appearing to be deep in thought. "I am a parasitic immortal, if that's enough for you to grasp properly. I survive by inhabiting the bodies of other less fortunate beings such as yourself."

"Once my host body expires, I become a wraith-like spirit that spends it's time searching for a new body. Once I find one, it's a long and advanced process in order to successfully take over their body and mind."

"I start by breaking them down mentally. Repeating nightmares, leaping shadows, fear-provoking voices… all of these methods appeal to me for the first phase."

"Once they've become fearful of their own reflection, which takes a surprising short amount of time, I begin materializing within their thoughts. They see me as themselves with red eyes and a slightly more superior appearance. I speak to them, but they don't often come willingly, so I typically have to use force."

"I move in and out of the dominant role, using my ever-strengthening abilities to take over their body and harm those close to them. It's a rather enjoyable experience for me, and I'm sure you'll come to agree eventually. While I'm in charge, my victim's soul is chained to the wall of their own mind, much like you are at present. Of course, once I've successfully taken over you won't be here to witness what I'll do with your body…" Daiko finally looked back at me, a smirk crossing his narrow face.

"So what you're saying is…" my voice was dazed. "Is that you want to possess my body?"

Daiko started clapping in a mocking fashion, to which I responded to with a heated "Shut the hell up!"

"You've got spirit, my friend. How I do love breaking strong and passionate souls like yours. And how can I do that better… than if I deprived you of all your friends?"

"My friends will always be here for me, no matter what." I snarled, straining against my bonds. How I would just love to get my fist in his smug face!

"I commend your resilience in your beliefs, Jack. However, if I may point out, those who have departed from this world can't do much to save you can they?"

"What the hell are you talking about!" my voice was rising with each passing tension-filled second. "Are you trying to tell me that you're going to-!"

"Sounds like you've finally figured it out." Daiko said lazily. "I'm going to use your body to kill your friends."


End file.
